Originally Posted by
lamphs
I can't remember the last time a hotel, other than the property in Venice (mentioned in the previous post), needed a copy of my passport. I recall government registration being a requirement when visiting some of the Eastern Bloc countries years ago - like in the 1990s. And Croatia and Slovenia are both EU countries and I am in those countries legally.
Is government registration, beyond border control, becoming a new thing?
Barring any changes in China (unlike), they need a copy of your passport but they'll make the copy themselves (typically they'll copy the main page and the visa page). Taiwan (several years back) they just want to see the main page of your passport to verify identity (no copying). Bahamas was the same (verify but nothing else).